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THE  JOY   OF  THE  LORD 


DE.   J.   E.   MILLER'S  BOOKS 

A  Heart  Garden 

Joy  of  Service 

Beauty  of  Every  Day 

Learning  to  Love 

Beauty  of  Self-Control 

Lesson  of  Love 

Bethlehem  to  Olivet 

Making  the  Most  of  Life 

Building  of  Character 

Ministry  of  Comfort 

Come  ye  Apart 

Morning  Thoughts 

Dr.  Miller's  Year  Book 

Personal    Friendships    of 

Evening  Thoughts 

Jesus 

Every  Day  of  Life 

Silent  Times 

Finding  the  Way 

Story  of  a  Busy  Life 

For  the  Best  Things 

Strength  and  Beauty 

Gate  Beautiful 

Things  to  Live  For 

Glimpses    through    Life's 

Upper  Currents 

Windows 

When    the    Song    Begins 

Go  Forward 

Wider  Life 

Golden  Gate  of  Prayer 

Young  People's  Problems 

Hidden  Life 

BOOKLETS 

Beauty  of  Kindness 

Marriage  Altar 

Blessing  of  Cheerfulness 

Mary  of  Bethany 

By  the  Still  Waters 

Master's  Friendships 

Christmas  Making 

Secret  of  Gladness 

Cure  for  Care 

Secrets    of    Happy    Home 

Face  of  the  Master 

Life 

Gentle  Heart 

Summer   Gathering 

Girls:  Faults  and  Ideals 

To-day   and    To-morrow 

Glimpses  of  the  Heavenly 

Transfigured  Life 

Life 

Turning  Northward 

How?      When?     Where? 

Unto  the  Hills 

In  Perfect  Peace 

Young  Men  :    Faults  and 

Inner  Life 

Ideals 

Loving  my  Neighbor 

THOMAS  Y.  CEOWELL  COMPANY 

While  we  are  feasting  at  our  own  table  we  must 

remember  those  who  are  hungry  outside,  and  send 

portions  to  them. 


THE 

JOY  OF  THE  LORD 


BY 


T.   R.   MILLER 

J 

Author  of '" Making  the  Most  of  Life "  "The  Master  s 
Friendships"  «  Upper  Currents"  etc. 


NEW  YORK 
THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  191 1, 
By  Thomas  Y.   Crowell  Company. 


FOREWORD 

TT^AR  more  earnestly  than  we  know  does 
^  God  want  us  to  be  happy.  It  grieves  a 
true  human  father  to  see  his  children  unhappy. 
Our  heavenly  Father  is  pained  and  disap- 
pointed when  his  children  on  the  earth  are 
discontented  and  anxious,  or  when  they  do 
not  rejoice.  This  little  book  is  a  call  to  joy, 
to  Christian  joy,  and  to  joy  that  will  make 
joy  in  others. 

J.  R.  M. 
Philadelphia,  U.S.A. 


om  r\r*n 


THE 

JOY  OF  THE  LORD 

jOY  is  the  highest  attainment 
of  life.  It  comes  of  perfect 
living  and  is  marred  by 
imperfection.  It  is  music 
without  a  note  of  discord.  It  is  motion 
without  a  trace  of  friction.  It  is  health 
without  the  slightest  sickness.  It  is 
pleasure  unalloyed. 

Says  William  George  Jordan,  "  Happi- 
ness is  the  greatest  paradox  of  Nature. 
It  can  grow  in  any  soil,  live  under  any 
conditions.  It  defies  environment.  It 
comes  from  within  ;  it  is  the  revelation 
of  the  depths  of  the  inner  life  as  light 
and  heat  proclaim  the  sun  from  which 
they  radiate.     Happiness  consists  not  of 


2      THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

having,  but  of  being ;  not  of  possessing, 
but  of  enjoying.  It  is  the  warm  glow 
of  a  heart  at  peace  with  itself." 

Joy  is  deeper  than  happiness.  Hap- 
piness is  the  fruit  of  good  hap.  Strictly 
it  is  the  outcome  of  fortuitous  happen- 
ings, of  favorable  circumstances.  Joy  is 
independent  of  circumstances.  It  dwells 
in  the  heart,  a  fountain  which  never  fails. 
Happiness  laughs  when  the  sun  shines 
but  grows  sad  when  clouds  gather.  Joy 
sings  on  in  all  weathers  and  in  all 
experiences. 

Joy  is  the  ideal  of  Christian  life.  God 
is  happy ;  we  cannot  conceive  of  him  as 
unhappy.  As  he  is  love  so  he  is  also 
joy,  and  his  joy,  like  all  his  attributes, 
is  infinite  and  eternal.  Only  once  in 
the  Bible  is  God  said  to  sing,  and  then 
it  is  in  his  love  for  his  own.  "He  will 
rejoice  over  thee  with  joy;   he  will  rest 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD      3 

in  his  love ;  he  will  joy  over  thee  with 
singing."  The  thought  is  exquisite  in 
its  meaning.  God's  joy  never  fails.  He 
is  never  dismayed  by  calamities.  He  is 
not  disturbed  by  convulsions.  It  was 
said  of  Christ,  "  He  will  not  fail  nor 
be  discouraged."  Life's  mysteries  break 
our  joy,  for  we  cannot  understand  their 
meaning.  But  there  are  no  mysteries 
with  God,  and  therefore  his  joy  is  never 
dimmed. 

To  grow  toward  God's  likeness  and 
become  more  and  more  filled  with  his 
life,  is  to  grow  in  joy.  It  would  seem 
that  not  many  even  of  those  who  are 
followers  of  Christ  reach  the  life  of  joy 
to  which  the  Master  calls  them.  How 
many  even  of  godly  people  are  never  cast 
down  !  Our  Christian  faith  claims  that 
we  never  should  be  discouraged,  never 
should  lose  our  gladness.     But  how  many 


4      THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD 

of  us  live  up  to  this  profession  ?  Yet 
should  we  not  do  so?  Is  God  not  able 
to  help  us  to  rejoice  always?  If  it  is 
our  privilege  and  our  duty  to  attain  a  joy 
that  never  shall  lose  its  song,  is  God  not 
able  to  help  us  to  reach  this  height  ? 
We  say  he  never  requires  of  us  an  im- 
possibility. "  Give  what  thou  command- 
est,"  was  the  prayer  of  one  of  the  Fathers, 
implying  that  everything  God  asks  us  to 
do  we  can  do  through  his  help.  Surely 
it  is  not  too  hard  for  God  to  enable  us 
to  live  a  life  of  joy. 

This  is  not  a  New  Testament  lesson 
only ;  it  is  taught  also  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. The  ancient  festivals  were  full 
of  song  and  gladness.  On  the  most 
joyous  of  them  all,  the  feast  of  tab- 
ernacles, they  made  the  coverings  of 
branches  so  thin,  so  open,  that  the  stars 
could   be  seen  through  them,  suggesting 


0 


Sings  OH   in   all   weathers. 


THE  JOY   OF  THE   LORD      5 

that  nothing  should  ever  hide  the  stars 
from  our  eyes.  It  was  in  a  great  festival 
of  Old  Testament  times  that  this  lesson  of 
joy  received  one  of  its  most  impressive 
enforcements.  It  was  after  the  return 
of  the  captives  and  the  rebuilding  of 
Jerusalem.  The  law  had  been  read  by 
1  and  the  reading  produced  weeping. 
"All  the  people  wept,  when  they  heard 
the  words  of  the  law/'  God's  word  is 
not  intended  to  make  people  sad.  Just 
why  it  produced  this  effect  that  day  we 
are  not  told.  Perhaps  the  people  had 
not  heard  the  law  read  for  a  long  time 
and  it  proved  painful  reading  because  it 
reminded  them  of  their  sins.  The 
law  showed  them  the  holiness  of  God, 
with  its  severe  whiteness,  and  as  they 
looked  into  the  mirror  they  saw  their 
own  faults  and  imperfections  and  the 
vision     alarmed     them.       This    grieved 


6       THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

them,  made  them  ashamed,  and  they 
wept. 

But  the  weeping  was  not  pleasing  to 
Nehemiah.  Sadness  was  not  the  effect 
he  wished  to  see  in  the  people.  It  was 
not  in  harmony  with  the  day.  "This 
day  is  holy  unto  Jehovah  your  God; 
mourn  not,  nor  weep."  The  day  be- 
longed to  God,  and  he  does  not  want 
day  of  his  stained  with  tears.  Sorrow  is 
always  sacred  to  God.  He  looks  upon 
it  with  compassion.  He  enters  into  it 
with  sympathy.  Pain  and  trouble  in  his 
children  appeal  to  the  heart  of  God  with 
wondrous  directness.  We  know  that  he 
is  never  indifferent  to  any  sadness. 

But  the  weeping  of  the  people  in  this 
case  was  because  of  their  sins.  Is  it  not 
right  to  grieve  over  wrong  things  we 
have  done?  We  know  that  penitence  is 
always  pleasing  to  God.     In  Lalla  Rookh 


THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD      7 

the  banished  Peri  was  told  that  when 
she  brought  to  heaven's  gate  the  thing 
on  earth  that  was  dearest  to  God  the 
door  would  open  and  she  would  be  re- 
admitted. Again  and  again  she  came 
with  things  she  thought  precious,  —  with 
the  last  drop  of  blood  of  a  patriot  dying 
for  liberty,  with  the  farewell  sigh  of  a 
lover,  —  but  the  bar  was  not  lifted  till 
she  came  with  the  tear  of  a  penitent. 
The  teaching  of  the  Bible  is  the  same. 
"Thou  delightest  not  in  sacrifice.  .  .  . 
Thou  hast  no  pleasure  in  burnt-offering. 
The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit : 
a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God, 
thou  wilt  not  despise/'  There  is  no 
more  precious  thing  on  earth  than  a  tear 
shed  in  sorrow  for  sin.  God  loves  such 
weeping  because  it  tells  of  a  heart  re- 
turning to  him. 

Yet   the  grief  of  the   people  that  day 


8      THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

was  not  approved  by  their  teachers.  It 
was  not  beautiful,  they  said.  It  was  not 
in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  day.  A 
great  festival  was  in  progress  and  joy  only 
was  appropriate.  "  This  day  is  holy  unto 
Jehovah  your  God ;  mourn  not,  nor 
weep."  There  seems  to  have  been  some- 
thing in  their  sorrow  which  was  defiling. 
We  remember  that  when  the  sons  of 
Aaron  had  offered  the  strange  fire  and 
died  before  the  Lord,  Moses  forbade  any 
exhibition  of  grief  over  their  tragic  death. 
"  Let  not  the  hair  of  your  heads  go  loose, 
neither  rend  your  clothes."  Any  expres- 
sion of  grief  in  the  terrible  circumstances 
would  have  appeared  to  be  a  complaint 
against  what  God  had  done.  They  were 
not,  by  word,  act,  or  look,  to  show  any- 
thing but  the  most  perfect  submission  to 
the  divine  judgment.  These  men  had  dis- 
obeyed God  and  had  been  stricken  down 


In  and  again  she  came  with  things  she  thought 

precious. 


THE  JOY   OF  THE   LORD      9 

because  of  their  sin.  There  must  be 
reverent  and  complete  acquiescence  even 
in  the  crushing  grief.  Besides,  the  priests 
were  engaged  in  acts  of  divine  worship 
which  must  not  be  interrupted  even  by 
the  most  bitter  experiences  of  sorrow. 
Their  service  in  the  tabernacle  was  holy 
unto  the  Lord,  and  anything  that  would 
break  into  it  would  be  sin.  Duty  must  go 
on  in  the  midst  of  deepest  grief. 

Nehemiah  this  day  stilled  the  noise  of 
the  people's  weeping  and  called  them  to 
enter  into  the  joy  of  the  occasion.  "  This 
day  is  holy  unto  Jehovah  your  God ; 
mourn  not,  nor  weep.  .  .  .  Then  he  said 
unto  them,  Go  your  way,  eat  the  fat,  and 
drink  the  sweet,  and  send  portions  unto 
him  for  whom  nothing  is  prepared  ;  for 
this  day  is  holy  unto  our  Lord  :  neither  be 
ye  grieved  ;  for  the  joy  of  Jehovah  is  your 
strength. " 


io    THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

A  day  devoted  to  the  Lord  should  be  a 
glad  day.  It  is  a  day  full  of  the  presence 
of  God,  and  the  presence  of  God  should 
not  make  us  sad.  It  should  not  inspire 
dread  and  terror.  There  is  nothing  in 
God  to  make  us  fear  or  to  cause  us  to 
grieve.  God  is  love.  He  is  not  our 
enemy;  he  is  our  friend.  He  does  not 
cherish  thoughts  of  anger  toward  us,  but 
thoughts  of  peace.  It  does  not  distress  us 
to  meet  a  human  friend  who  has  in  his 
heart  peace  and  good  will  toward  us.  A 
day  with  such  an  one  would  never  sadden 
us.  We  would  not  spend  it  weeping.  It 
would  seem  strange  indeed  if  when  we 
enter  our  friend's  presence  we  should  break 
out  into  wailing.  The  presence  of  God 
is  sunshine ;  it  is  brightness.  It  hides  no 
dangers.  Its  every  influence  is  joy.  It 
should  inspire  joy. 

Some  people  are  indeed  afraid  of  God, 


THE  JOY   OF  THE   LORD     u 

but  it  is  because  they  have  wrong  thoughts 
of  him.  A  woman  said  "  I  am  afraid  of 
( iod,  but  I  love  Jesus  Christ,  and  have  no 
fear  of  him."  This  was  because  she  mis- 
understood God.  God  was  terror  to  her 
because  she  thought  of  him  as  only  anger, 
justice,  fury.  She  thought  of  God  only 
as  an  avenger.  She  thought  of  Jesus  as 
mercy  and  love.  She  supposed  he  had 
come  to  take  us  out  of  the  hands  of  God 
and  to  save  us  from  his  wrath.  She 
hated  God,  but  loved  Jesus  Christ.  Yet 
this  is  not  the  truth  about  God.  It  was 
God  who  loved  the  world  and  gave  his 
Son  to  be  its  Saviour.  God  and  Christ  are 
one.  Christ  is  God  revealed  in  human 
life.  Christ  is  the  mercy  of  God.  God 
is  our  Father,  having  in  him  all  tenderness, 
all  compassion,  all  goodness.  It  is  only 
when  we  misunderstand  God  that  we  can 
be  afraid  of  him.    We  cannot  weep  when 


12    THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

we  are  in  the  presence  of  God  if  we  have 
the  true  thought  of  his  gracious  love. 
Our  sorrow  will  be  swallowed  up  in  the 
joy  that  the  divine  presence  inspires  in  us. 

We  need  to  think  of  this  when  we  are 
in  grief.  Perhaps  the  fact  that  we  are 
Christians  does  not  always  mean  as  much 
to  us  as  it  should  in  such  experiences.  Do 
we  bear  pain  and  trial  differently  from  the 
way  in  which  the  people  who  know  not 
Christ  do  ?  When  we  have  a  great  sor- 
row do  we  stop  to  think  of  our  relation  to 
Christ  and  ask  how  we  ought  to  bear  our- 
selves as  his  friends  ?  Does  it  ever  occur 
to  us  that  our  excessive  grief  may  not 
please  God,  that  it  may  mar  the  beauty  of 
our  fellowship  with  him,  that  we  may  sin 
by  indulging  it  overmuch  ?  "  The  day  is 
holy ;   mourn  not,  nor  weep." 

We  know  that  sorrow  is  sacred  with 
God.     "  Blessed   are   they  that   mourn/' 


THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD     13 

runs  the  beatitude.  "  Comfort  ye,  com- 
fort ye  my  people,"  is  God's  word  to  the 
messengers  of  his  love,  whom  he  sends  out 
to  the  sad  and  suffering  ones  of  earth.  To 
those  who  are  in  sorrow  he  gives  the  assur- 
ance, "  As  one  whom  his  mother  comfort- 
eth,  so  will  I  comfort  you."  The  Bible 
is  full  of  divine  sympathy  with  human 
grief.  When  we  lay  our  head  upon  it  we 
feel  the  beating  of  a  heart  of  infinite  love 
and  compassion.  God  hears  our  songs  of 
joy,  but  he  hears  also  the  dropping  of  our 
tears  and  the  throbbing  of  our  hearts  when 
we  suffer.  He  hears  the  cry  of  the  child, 
the  groan  of  the  oppressed,  every  pang  of 
distress.  It  is  a  measureless  comfort  to  us 
to  know  that  God  is  afflicted  in  all  our 
afflictions,  that  our  Saviour  is  touched  with 
the  feeling  of  our  infirmities. 

The  gentle  sympathy  of  God  with  our 
human  weakness  and  pain  is  one  of  the 


14    THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD 

most  marvelous  qualities  of  the  divine 
character  and  is  infinite  in  its  comfort. 
To  know  that  God  feels  with  us  in  our 
every  pang,  that  he  cares  when  we  are  in 
distress,  brings  him  very  near  to  us  and 
makes  our  pain  very  sacred.  We  must 
not  think  that  God  is  angry  with  our 
tears  or  forbids  us  to  grieve.  Jesus  him- 
self wept  when  his  friend  had  died  and 
when  he  sat  with  the  sorrowing  ones  and 
saw  their  anguish.  He  sympathizes  with 
us  all  in  our  pain.  It  is  not  grief  he  con- 
demns or  forbids,  but  excessive  grief,  grief 
that  is  insubmissive.  Even  the  grace  of 
God  does  not  make  our  hearts  less  tender. 
It  does  not  dull  our  feelings  so  that  pain 
hurts  us  less.  We  do  not  suffer  less  in 
our  sorrow  because  we  love  Christ. 

One  way  God  helps  us  is  by  making  us 
strong  to  bear  pain  and  to  endure  suffering. 
He  also  brings  before  us  the  great  truths 


ne   whom    his   mother  COmforteth,   SO   will    I 
comfort  you." 


THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD     15 

and  facts  of  religion  in  such  a  way  that 
we  see  how  blessing  and  good  will  come 
to  us  out  of  pain  and  loss  and  receive  the 
strength  that  divine  grace  imparts.  Com- 
fort is  a  reality  —  not  a  mere  sentiment. 
Sorrow  is  not  actually  taken  away ;  it  is 
turned  into  joy.  Our  trouble  is  not  re- 
moved from  us  and  our  senses  are  not 
dulled  and  made  incapable  of  pain.  We 
weep  still,  but  our  tears  are  struck  through 
now  with  the  light  of  heaven. 

We  do  not  well,  therefore,  in  our  sor- 
row to  refuse  to  be  comforted.  We  are 
God's  children  and  our  Father's  love  in- 
cludes all  the  affairs  of  our  lives.  He 
watches  over  us  with  infinite  affection. 
When  he  permits  us  to  suffer  he  will  not 
let  the  suffering  hurt  us,  however  painful 
the  experience  may  be.  In  all  times  of 
danger  he  hides  us  away  in  the  secret  of 
his  love  where  no  evil  can  touch  us.     His 


16    THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD 

purpose  always  is  to  use  pain  to  make  us 
better,  to  purify  and  enrich  our  lives,  to 
bring  out  the  best  that  is  in  us.  He  wants 
us  to  submit  ourselves  in  confidence  and 
trust  to  his  will  and  to  accept  our  suffer- 
ings with  cheerful  spirit.  "  Mourn  not, 
nor  weep,"  is  ever  the  message  of  divine 
love.  Sadness  should  never  be  the  mood 
of  God's  children,  however  painful  their 
experiences.  Refusing  to  be  comforted 
is  never  Christlike. 

Nehemiah  marked  out  for  the  people 
a  way  of  duty.  Instead  of  giving  way  to 
weeping,  when  they  thought  of  their  sins, 
he  sent  them  to  a  service  that  would  lead 
them  to  joy.  "  He  said  unto  them,  Go 
your  way,  eat  the  fat,  and  drink  the  sweet, 
and  send  portions  unto  him  for  whom 
nothing  is  prepared ;  for  this  day  is  holy 
unto  our  Lord."  Passive  grief  is  not  the 
penitence  which  God  desires  us  to  cherish 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD  17 
when  we  have  sinned.  He  desires  repen- 
tance mid  then  turning  to  him  in  joyful 
obedience.  We  are  not  to  waste  our  time 
in  vain  regret  and  idle  grieving,  when  we 
have  done  foolishly.  Instead,  we  are  to 
begin  at  once  to  rebuild  what  sin  has  de- 
stroyed and  enter  at  once  upon  a  beautiful 
life,  A  poet  tells  of  walking  in  his  garden 
one  morning  after  a  storm.  There  he 
saw  a  torn  bird's  nest  lying  on  the  ground 
—  part  of  the  ruin  the  storm  had  wrought. 
The  poet  had  a  gentle  heart  and  began  to 
pity  the  birds  in  the  loss  they  had  suffered. 
But  as  he  stood  there  under  the  tree, 
thinking  sadly  of  what  had  happened,  he 
heard  chattering  voices  above  him,  and 
looking  up  he  saw  the  birds  busy  at  the 
rebuilding  of  their  ruined  nest.  So  it 
should  be  with  us  when  disaster  has  come 
to  us.  We  should  not  waste  a  moment 
in    grieving    over    the    ruin,   but    should 


1 8    THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

quickly  begin  to  rebuild  our  palace  with 
joy  and  trust.  The  days  are  holy  unto 
the  Lord,  and  the  only  way  to  spend  holy 
days  is  to  devote  them  to  ministries  of 
love. 

That  is  what  Nehemiah  bade  his  people 
to  do.  They  had  sinned,  but  they  were 
not  to  give  a  moment  to  grieving  over 
their  folly  and  evil.  There  was  not  an 
instant  to  waste.  The  only  true  thing  to 
do  was  to  set  about  the  doing  of  their 
duty.  First,  they  were  to  celebrate  the 
festival  in  their  own  homes.  "  Eat  the 
fat,  and  drink  the  sweet/'  God  loves  glad- 
ness. He  wants  his  children  to  be  happy. 
Worship  in  Old  Testament  days  was  to 
find  its  expression  in  feasting.  Certain 
parts  of  the  offerings  brought  to  the  altar 
were  to  be  consumed  in  the  holy  fire,  and 
then  certain  parts  were  to  be  given  back 
to  the  worshiper  to  be  eaten  by  himself 


THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD     19 

and  his  family.  With  these  portions, 
sacred  because  they  had  been  given  to 
God,  he  was  to  hold  a  feast  in  his  own 
house,  not  a  feast  of  revelry,  but  of  pure 
A  holy  day  was  not  a  solemn,  sad 
day,  but  a  day  bright  with  joy,  a  festival 
day. 

Too  often,  even  in  the  Christian  church, 
religion  has  been  misrepresented  as  some- 
thing severe  and  without  gladness.  Men 
have  thought  of  God  as  terrible,  not  a 
happy  friend  to  whom  they  could  come 
with  glad  heart,  but  one  before  whom 
they  could  appear  only  with  awe  and 
dread.  Children  have  been  frightened 
with  the  warning  that  God  saw  them, 
and  would  punish  them,  as  if  that  was 
God's  chief  business  with  them.  The 
worship  of  God  has  been  represented  as 
observed  without  joy.  But  this  is  an  ut- 
terly  false    representation    of   the   divine 


2o    THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

character.  God  is  love,  and  love  is  joy. 
He  is  the  blessed  God,  the  happy  God. 
The  religion  of  Christ  is  all  gladness. 
We  are  taught  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord. 
There  are  more  calls  in  the  Bible  to  praise 
than  there  are  even  to  pray.  Holiness  is 
gladness.  Jesus  Christ  was  ushered  into 
the  world  with  a  burst  of  angels'  songs. 
His  life  on  the  earth  was  full  of  joy.  He 
was  a  sufferer,  but  he  illumined  every  sor- 
row he  endured  with  shining  gladness. 
He  was  the  light  of  the  world.  His  teach- 
ing was  full  of  beatitudes,  blesseds. 

All  the  highest  expressions  of  the  reli- 
gious spirit  are  in  song.  The  Jews  here 
at  Jerusalem  were  commanded  to  cease 
their  weeping  and  in  their  own  homes  to 
eat  the  fat  and  drink  the  sweet.  Empha- 
sis was  thus  put  upon  the  true  holiness  of 
home.  It  was  there,  and  not  in  the  tem- 
ple, that  they  were  to  celebrate  the  essen- 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD  21 
rial  part  of  the  worship.  It  was  to  be 
celebrated,  too,  as  a  glad  family  meal  and 

s  a  burdensome,  solemn  ritual.  They 
were  to  find  the  gladness,  not  the  sorrow, 
the  sweetness,  not  the  bitterness,  the  best 
of  everything,  not  the  worst.  The  day 
was  holy  to  the  Lord  and  there  were  not 
to  be  tears,  but  songs. 

Another  feature  of  the  day  was  loving 
thought  of  others.  They  were  to  eat  the 
fat  and  drink  the  sweet  at  home  but  they 
were  also  to  send  portions  unto  those  for 
whom  nothing  had  been  prepared,  for  the 
day  was  holy.  Part  of  the  holiness  is  al- 
ways loving  service.  We  are  never  to  eat 
our  bread  alone  ;  we  are  to  share  it.  "  It 
is  better  to  be  lost  than  to  be  saved  all 
alone,"  says  Amiel.  In  Job's  self-justifi- 
cation, when  his  friends  had  spoken  bit- 
terly against  him,  he  says,  among  other 
things : 


22    THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

"  If  I  have  withheld  the  poor  from  their  desire, 

Or  have  caused  the  eyes  of  the  widow  to 
fail, 

Or  have  eaten  my  morsel  alone, 

And  the  fatherless  have  not  eaten  thereof;  .  .  . 

Then  let  my  shoulder  fall  from  the  shoulder- 
blade, 

And  mine  arm  be  broken  from  the  bone." 

We  may  never  eat  our  morsel  alone 
while  others  are  hungry.  This  lesson  was 
taught  thus  emphatically  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament and  still  more  earnestly  in  the 
New  Testament.  In  the  Lord's  Prayer 
we  are  taught  to  pray  not  for  our  own 
bread  alone,  but  for  bread  for  others  as 
well.  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.' ' 
While  we  are  feasting  at  our  own  table 
we  must  remember  those  who  are  hungry 
outside,  and  send  portions  to  them.  The 
days  are  holy  —  all  the  days  are  holy,  and 
no  day  set  aside  for  God  must  be  stained 
by  selfishness. 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD     23 

The  direction  that  the  people,  after 
eating  the  fat  and  drinking  the  sweet  of 
their  should  send  portions  to  those 

for  whom  nothing  had  been  prepared  was 
in  keeping  with  the  teaching  of  the  Bible 
throughout.  The  poor  were  always  to  be 
remembered.  The  stranger  was  never  to 
be  forgotten.  He  who  let  the  needy  go 
hungry  when  he  had  plenty  on  his  own 
table  was  severely  condemned.  In  the 
New  Testament  the  lesson  was  taught 
with  marked  emphasis.  Generosity  is  a 
quality  of  all  true  Christian  character. 
To  think  only  of  ourselves  and  give  no 
thought  to  others  is  contrary  to  the  spirit 
of  Christ,  which  teaches  us  always  to 
share  our  plenty  with  those  who  lack. 
Meanness  is  always  condemned.  Gener- 
osity is  always  praised.  It  is  a  large 
word.  It  has  a  root  which  means  excel- 
lence, goodness.      It  is  a  word  of  rank. 


24    THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD 

Its  first  definition  in  the  dictionary  is 
"  nobility  :  the  order  of  nobles."  A  Prus- 
sian order  of  distinction,  founded  in  1665, 
bears  the  name  The  Order  of  Generosity, 
later  changed  to  The  Order  of  Merit. 
The  word  was  applied  only  to  the  good, 
the  brave,  the  noble.  Christ  was  gener- 
ous. He  had  largeness  of  heart,  mag- 
nanimity. He  taught  his  followers  to  be 
generous.  The  lack  of  generosity  in  one 
who  calls  himself  a  Christian  is  a  blot  on 
his  name.  It  marks  him  as  unworthy.  It 
dishonors  him  as  cowardice  dishonors  the 
name  of  him  who  calls  himself  a  man. 

The  brightest  deeds  that  shine  in  the 
story  of  humanity  are  the  deeds  of  gener- 
osity. History  records  that  when  Nero 
was  dead  some  one  came  secretly  and 
spread  flowers  on  his  grave.  Dr.  David 
Smith,  in  The  British  Weekly,  tells  of 
the  strange  devotion : 


THE  JOY   OF  THE   LORD     25 

Nero,  the  bloody  Emperor,  was  dead  ; 

And  Rome,  like  one  who  waketh  suddenly 
Out  of  an  evil  dream,  lifted  her  head 

And    wondered.       Presently    one    strong, 
fierce  cry 
Burst  from  unnumber'd  throats,  and  swelling 
high, 
Rang  to  the  hilltops  —  the  wild  jubilance 
Of  bondsmen  who  had  gained  their  liberty 
After  much  wrong  and  bitter  sufferance. 
No  voice  lamented :   had  no  heart  a  thought 
Of  ruth  ?      Ay,  as   each  season  came  and 
went, 
An  unknown  hand,  belike  a  woman's,  brought 
Sweet    flowers   and   strewed    them    on    his 
monument: 
Fond  tribute  of  a  clinging  love  that  yearned 
For    the    dead     tyrant    whom    an     Empire 
spurned. 

It  was  a  splendid  generosity  that  strewed 
the  flowers  on  that  grave.  Once,  perhaps, 
amid  all  his  cruelties  and  tyrannies  the 
king  had  done  a  kindness,  and  thus  it  was 


26    THE  JOY   OF  THE  LORD 

remembered.  Generosity  does  not  merely 
return  good  for  good,  does  not  merely 
measure  its  giving  by  what  it  has  received. 
Like  Christly  love  it  blesses  the  hand  that 
has  smitten,  it  repays  cruelty  with  gentle- 
ness, it  serves  most  unselfishly  those  who 
have  done  the  sorest  wrong. 

Generosity  is  the  perfect  flower  of  love. 
It  does  not  think  who  it  is  that  needs,  but 
gives  and  serves  the  unworthiest.  It 
thinks  only  of  the  fact  there  is  one  for 
whom  nothing  has  been  prepared  and 
sends  a  portion  to  him  that  he  may  share 
love's  fat  and  sweet. 

It  is  this  spirit  that  glorifies  true  Christ- 
mas keeping.  Christmas  is  a  wonderful 
day.  It  works  miracles  of  love  all  over 
the  world.  Its  feast  is  kept  with  joy  and 
song  in  countless  Christian  homes.  But 
the  true  glory  of  Christmas  is  seen  in 
what  it  does  among  the  poor,  in  prisons 


THE  JOY   OF  THE   LORD    27 

and  hospitals  and  orphanages  and  refuges 
of  all  kinds,  where  it  brings  its  portion  for 
those  for  whom  nothing  has  been  pre- 
pared. Love  is  very  sweet  when  it  pours 
out  its  gifts  for  those  who  love  us;  but  it 
reaches  its  sweetest  and  divinest  when  it 
brings  its  blessings  to  those  who  do  not 
love  us,  perhaps,  who  will  never  thank 
us,  nor  remember  what  we  have  done, 
nor  return  gratitude  for  our  kindness. 

Let  us  cultivate  the  spirit  of  generosity, 
thinking  ever  in  our  enjoyment  of  God's 
goodness  of  those  who  lack  the  blessings 
we  enjoy,  and  sending  to  them  love's  por- 
tion. Thus  shall  we  continue  the  work 
which  our  Lord  began  in  this  world. 
Thus  shall  we  enlarge  our  own  hearts  and 
the  ministry  of  love  we  have  been  sent 
here  to  perform.  Thus  shall  we  come 
nearer  and  nearer  to  those  who  need  us, 
and  more  and  more  able  to  be  a  blessing 


28    THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

to  them.  For  we  never  can  reach  others 
by  seeking  to  have  them  love  us ;  we  can 
do  them  good  only  by  loving  them. 
George  Macdonald  says :  "  I  know  that  it 
is  by  loving,  and  not  by  being  loved, 
that  one  can  come  nearest  the  soul  of 
another  ;  yea,  that  where  two  love,  it  is 
the  love  of  each  other,  and  not  the  being 
loved  by  each  other,  that  originates  and 
perfects  and  assures  their  blessedness.  I 
know  that  love  gives  to  him  that  loveth 
power  over  any  soul  beloved,  even  if  that 
soul  knows  him  not,  bringing  him  in- 
wardly close  to  that  spirit ;  a  power  that 
cannot  but  be  for  good,  for  in  proportion 
as  selfishness  intrudes,  the  love  ceases, 
and  the  power  that  springs  therefrom 
dies." 

This  is  a  lesson  we  cannot  learn  too 
well,  nor  fix  too  deeply  in  our  hearts. 
We    sometimes    forget    that    nothing    is 


To  ^ro  down  from  the  splendour  of*  the  mountain- 
top,  to  carry  the  holy  light  into  the  darkness   of 
the   world   below. 


THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD    29 

given  to  us  for  ourselves  alone.  When 
abundance  of  blessing  or  prosperity  in  any 
form  comes  to  us  we  may  not  shut  our- 
selves in  with  it  and  use  it  only  for 
ourselves.  We  are  only  God's  almoners, 
and  the  good  we  have  received  we  are  to 
dispense  to  others  who  need.  Peter's 
mistake  on  the  Transfiguration  Mount 
was  in  wanting  to  build  tabernacles  and 
stay  there  with  the  Lord  and  the  heavenly 
visitants,  keeping  the  glorious  vision  to 
themselves.  The  duty  was  rather  to  go 
down  from  the  splendor  of  the  mountain 
top  to  carry  the  holy  light  into  the 
darkness  of  the  world  below. 

Ever  this  is  our  duty  when  we  have 
eaten  the  fat,  and  drunk  the  sweet  of  any 
blessing  at  our  own  table.  We  are  to  think 
of  those  outside  who  have  no  such  blessing 
or  favor  as  we  are  enjoying  and  are  to 
send  portions  to  them. 


3o    THE  JOY   OF  THE   LORD 

"  Bow  thy  head  and  pray- 
That  while  thy  brother  starves  to-day 
Thou  mayest  not  eat  thy  bread  at  ease ; 
Pray  that  no  health  or  wealth  or  peace 
May  hold  thy  soul  while  the  world  lies 
Suffering,  and  claims  thy  sacrifice." 

At  the  close  of  this  beautiful  home 
incident  we  have  a  word  which  has  become 
classical  in  the  Scriptures  because  of  its 
far-reaching  meaning.  "  The  joy  of  the 
Lord  is  your  strength."  The  joy  of 
the  Lord  is  not  earth's  joy,  that  joy  which 
comes  from  earthly  pleasures  and  earthly 
possessions,  but  the  joy  which  comes  from 
knowing  God  and  from  being  his  child. 
This  is  a  joy  which  the  world  could  not 
give  and  cannot  take  away,  but  which 
belongs  to  all  who  truly  believe  in  God. 
It  is  a  joy  which  is  not  dependent  upon 
health  or  upon  riches  or  upon  human 
friends  or  upon  worldly  honors ;  it  is  the 


THE  JOY   OF  THE   LORD    31 

joy  of  the  Lord,  and  can  come  only  from 
him  and  through  his  love.  There  are 
those  who  have  it  and  yet  are  continual 
sufferers.  Everything  that  is  supposed  to 
be  essential  to  earthly  happiness  may  be 
lacking  and  yet  the  heart  may  have  joy 
that  abides  unbroken  through  all  the  pain 
and  loss. 

Some  great  calamity  may  befall  a 
believer  in  God,  almost  hopelessly  destroy- 
ing his  last  resource  of  happiness  in  his  life, 
leaving  suffering  or  sorrow  which  it  seems 
never  can  be  healed  or  comforted,  and 
yet  the  fountain  of  pain  becomes  a  new 
spring  of  joy.  It  is  said  that  during  the 
siege  of  Sebastopol  a  Russian  shell  buried 
itself  in  the  side  of  a  hill  outside  the 
city  and  a  spring  of  water  burst  out  of 
the  torn  ground  and  became  a  flowing 
fountain.  The  weary  soldiers  drank  of 
the  pure,  sweet  water  during  all  the  siege. 


32    THE  JOY  OF  THE   LORD 

So  the  wounds  and  hurts  of  life  which 
seem  to  destroy  beauty  and  joy  only  open 
new  sources  of  gladness. 

Every  Christian  should  have  this  joy. 
It  is  part  of  his  inheritance.  His  heart 
should  be  filled  with  it.  But  is  there 
really  much  joy  of  such  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  call  themselves  Christians  ? 
We  rejoice  when  all  things  go  well  with 
us,  when  we  have  friends,  ease,  money, 
health,  and  prosperous  circumstances. 
But  when  we  lose  these  happy  conditions 
our  joy  departs.  Having  God  we  should 
rejoice  though  all  things  have  been  taken 
from  us.  Whatever  sorrow  is  ours  our  joy 
should  continue.  Its  source  is  in  God's 
own  heart  and  this  fountain  can  never  fail. 

This  joy  of  the  Lord  is  said  to  be  our 
strength.  It  makes  us  strong.  Sadness 
makes  us  weak.  When  joy  departs 
strength   leaves  us,  and   we   faint  by  the 


THE  JOY   OF  THE  LORD    33 

way.  If  you  would  continue  strong  you 
must  keep  joy.  No  one  can  do  his  work 
well  if  he  is  unhappy.  It  is  said  of  a  great 
artist  that  he  always  carried  a  lyre  when 
he  was  painting.  The  music  inspired  his 
art.  Happiness  is  always  an  inspiration, 
Without  it  our  work  is  never  the  best  we 
could  do.  Joy  exhilarates  and  inspires  and 
sorrow  depresses.  Yet  not  all  joy  makes 
men  strong.  The  world's  joy  does  not. 
Sin  is  enervating.  It  is  only  pure  joy  that 
makes  us  strong.  "The  joy  of  the  Lord 
is  your  strength." 

In  a  marginal  reading  the  words  are : 
"  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  stronghold. " 
We  find  safety  in  it.  It  is  a  refuge.  Sad- 
ness never  is  a  refuge.  Grief  is  not  a  shel- 
ter for  us.  It  is  full  of  danger.  Times  of 
trouble  are  times  of  peril.  We  are  weak 
when  we  are  depressed  and  disheartened. 
Joy    makes    us    brave.     It   nerves    us    for 


34    THE  JOY   OF  THE   LORD 
struggle    and   for     burden-bearing.      We 
cannot  be  defeated  while  we  are  strong. 
Temptation's  power  over  us  cannot  prevail 
while  joy  fills  our  hearts. 

Joy  is  springtime  to  our  lives.  It  pours 
warmth  and  sunshine  everywhere  and  in 
the  soft  atmosphere  all  things  grow  beauti- 
ful. The  Orientals  say,  "  By  dint  of  laugh- 
ing the  roses  are  opened."  The  life  which 
joy  inspires  becomes  rich  in  its  loveliness 
and  fruitfulness. 

"  There  's  never  a  rose  in  all  the  world 

But  makes  some  green  spray  sweeter ; 
There 's  never  a  wind  in  all  the  sky 

But  makes  some  bird  wing  fleeter ; 
There  *s  never  a  star  but  brings  to  heaven 

Some  silver  radiance  tender ; 
And  never  a  rosy  cloud  but  helps 

To  crown  the  sunset  splendor; 
No  robin  but  may  thrill  some  heart, 

His  dawn  like  gladness  voicing ; 
God  gives  us  all  some  small  sweet  way 

To  set  the  world  rejoicing." 


dim  of  laughing  the  roses  arc  opened/1 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD  35 
Joy  puts  us  in  the  mood  for  service. 
We  love  others  easily  when  we  have  in  us 
the  joy  of  the  Lord.  It  is  not  hard  to  he 
unselfish  and  self-denying  if  we  are  happy 
with  Christian  joy.  We  are  ready  to  en- 
dure any  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  others  if 
avc  joyful.  "  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is 
your  strength."  We  have  much  yet  to 
learn,  most  of  us,  before  we  become  the 
Christian  optimists  we  ought  to  be.  We 
say  we  should  have  joy,  and  in  the  bright 
days  we  sing,  but  the  moment  the  clouds 
begin  to  gather  the  songs  die  upon  our 
lips.  The  great  mass  of  Christian  people 
do  not  rejoice,  do  not  sing. 

If  we  would  learn  Nehemiah's  lesson 
we  would  not  only  change  our  lives  but 
would  work  a  marvelous  change  in  the 
world  we  live  in.  Indeed,  a  large  part  of 
regeneration  is  to  become  happy.  Robert 
Louis  Stevenson  spoke  truly  when  he  said, 


36    THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD 
"  To  be  happy  is  the  first  step  in  being 
pious.''     You     have    gone    a    long     way 
toward  saintliness  when  you  have  learned 
to  laugh. 

When  you  have  fully  mastered  the 
lesson  you  will  know  the  deepest  joy  when 
you  are  facing  the  storm.  A  vessel  was 
crossing  the  sea  from  Germany,  a  winter 
or  two  ago,  having  on  board  a  cargo 
of  song  birds.  At  first  the  air  was  soft 
and  warm,  and  not  a  bird  in  all  the 
thousands  sang  a  note.  After  a  few  days 
a  storm  arose  and  the  weather  grew  cold. 
Then  one  by  one  the  birds  began  to  sing, 
and  soon  all  the  thousands  of  sweet  song- 
sters on  the  vessel  were  singing  as  if  their 
little  throats  would  burst.  When  the  joy 
of  the  Lord  is  in  our  hearts  the  wilder  the 
storm,  the  fiercer  the  tempest,  the  more 
gladly  do  we  sing. 


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